Anthony reckenzaun



(No Model.)-

A. RBCKENZAUN.

SECONDARY BATTERY B LEGTRODE-AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

Patented May 31,1892.

munmmnnnml lxwwwoow UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

ANTHONY REOKENZAUN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

SECONDARY-BATTERY ELECTRODE AND PROCESS OF MAKING THE SAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 475,797, dated May 31,1892.

Application filed $eptemher 13, 1890. Serial No. 365,120. (No model.)Patented in England November 22, 1889, No. 18,755 in France July 30,1890, No. 207,332; in Belgium July 30, 1890, No, 91,462; in GermanyAugust 7, 1890, No. 57,085; in Victoria October 11, 1890, No. 8,155; inItaly July 8, 1891, No. 409, and in Spain July 24, 1891, No. 12,213.

To all whom it may concern.-

Beitknown that I, ANTHONY REOKENZAUN, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, residing at London, in the county of Surrey, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Secondary Batteries,(for which I have obtained Letters Patent of Great Britain, No. 18,755,dated November 22, 1889; in Victoria, No. 8,155, dated October 11, 1890;in France, No. 207,332, dated July 30, 1890; in Belgium, No. 91,462,dated July 30, 1890; in Germany, No. 57,085, dated August 7, 1890; inSpain, No. 12,213, dated July 24, 1891, and in Italy, No. 409, datedJuly 8, 1891;) and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object the production of active material uponthe surfaces of plates by means of the electric spark or are. Thesurfaces of metals become oxidized and physically changed under theinfluence of electric sparks. An electric spark is generally followed bya stream of air or other surrounding medium. The points of discharge mayalso be partially evaporized and the resultant vapors enter more or lessintimately into combination with the surfaces to be treated, and I havefound that not only the electric spark but also the electric arcproduces similar results.

Now in accordance with my invention I utilize the phenomena to whichlhave above referred for the production of oxides and other compoundsupon metallic plates for batteries.

In carrying out my invention I proceed as follows'that is to say, Iplace a plate, sheet, strip, ribbon, wire, or other form of lead orother suitable metal in contact with one pole of a dynamo or othersource of electricity, some other suitable conductor being connectedwith the other pole of the source of supply, and I produce sparks orarcs between these two terminals. At the same time I cause either theplate to travel under the conducting-point or I allow the latter to passover the plate, or both may be made to have some relative motion, inorder to distribute the action of the spark or are over either the wholeor any portion of the surface of the plate. In the one case I allow amore or less rapid make and break between the surface to be operatedupon and the conductingpoint, whereupon a succession of electric sparkswill ensue. In the other case I produce an electric are between the twoelements and maintain such are for anylength of time while one orotherof the elements is traveling along. The action is more energeticunder this latter mode of procedure, owing to the higher temperaturemaintained by the employment of the arc. Particles of the surfaces undertreatment become melted, and they combine with surrounding matter. Thefinal effect will depend upon the nature of the conductors forming thespark or are, as the case may be, as also upon the surrounding medium.Atmospheric air produces good results; but the effect is enhanced byoxygen gas, and various combinations may be effected by the employmentof other gases, vapors, or liquids, which can be led to the points ofapplication.

The surfaces to be treated with the electric spark or arc, or for morerapid work a series of sparks or arcs, may also previously be coatedwith any suitable material which bv heat or by evaporation may promotethe desired changes on the surfaces, and instead of oxides various othercompounds may be produced, according to the nature of such substances.Hence in accordance with my invention it is not only possible to effectthe oxidation of metals, but deposits may be produced varying in natureaccording to the material of which the conductingpoints are made, asalso according to the properties of any substance in the vicinity of andinfluenced by the spark or are. Even the relative arrangement ofpolarity influences the results. Thus it will be found that in the caseof a sheet of lead when under treatment in' atmospheric air by means ofan arc from con tinuous currents the surface of the lead will assume aporous orspongy form, eitherbrown or light yellow in color, accordinglyas the plate formed the positive or negative pole of the source ofsupply, whereas the effect of color with alternating currents is notdistinctly defined.

It will be readily understood that the arc in any case must be ofsu'flicient strength to insure the desired effect, not so powerful as todestroy the plate, sheet, strip, ribbon, or Wire, nor so weak as to makebut little impression. I find that a current of about two amperes givesgood results on rather thin metal without burning it through, with anelectro-motive force of about forty volts. The voltage can be variedaccording to the most suitablelength of arc, and thecurrent strengthdepends in a measure upon the thickness of the material to be treated,and generally the current, as well as the potential difference, must beadjusted to the nature and dimensions of the elements. The current isregulated by suitable resistances in the circuit, formed of a coil or ofcoils, which may at the same time be utilized for actuating the make andbreak whether in the case of sparking or for producing the arc. In theone case the armature of the make and break will resemble the tremblerof an induction-coil and in the other that part of an arc lamp whichstarts the arc atthe moment of making circuit and maintains it aconvenient length of time. With the object of maintaining atolerablyconstant current I may, instead of using a dead-resistance inthe electric circuit, insert an electric motor Whose speed and counterelectro-motive force will vary with the resistance of the are betweenthe surface under treatment and the conducting point or points and thustend to automatically equalize the current strength.

One of the resultant advantages of preparing plates in this manner isthat the active material can be made with rapidity and in the desiredparts of the surface. Thus for mechanical or electrical reasons anyportion of the surface can be left unattacked and in its normalcondition, while the remaining portion can, wherever desired, beconverted into an active or porous mass, being in an integral union withits metallic base.

For convenience in manufacture I prefer to use continuous metal ribbons,strips, or wires, which can be treated on being caused to run overrollers while subjected to the action of the electric current. Thesestrips, sheets, ribbons, or wires are afterward shaped into electrodesfor.batteries,which are placed into the usual electrolytes and chargedin any of the well-known methods.

I wish it to be understood that the mere shape of the electrodes formsno part of my invention, and also that part of thehereinbefore-described process of manufacture is avail- .able inconnection with primary batteries,

and likewise for other industrial purposes.

There may be very many forms and variations of mechanism for carryingthis method into elfect. I will, however, describe only one form asillustrative of means that maybe employed.

In the accompanying drawings, of which Figure 1 is a side elevation andFig. 2 an end elevation of suitable mechanism, partly in cross-section,on the line 00 a: of Fig. 1, the letter A designates a standardsupporting a horizontal arm 13, which carries a roller 0, preferably ofmetal, across which passes a strip'D, which may be a lead strip, whosesurface is to be oxidized. This strip in Fig. 2 is represented aspassing over guide-rolls E and may be moved along by any suitable means,hand or mechanism, at the desired speed-say at the rate of six inchesper minuteand which may be wound upon a suitable roll; (Not shown.)

In proximity to the strip D is supported a suitable conductorF of anyappropriate form and substancesay a disk of carbon or lead whichpreferably is made to turn, so as to present new or fresh surfaces as itwears away. This conductor is sufficiently close to the strip D topermit a spark or an arc to be formed between them to act upon the stripand may be supported in any suitable way. It is illustrated as pivotallysecured to a swinging arm G, pivoted or hinged to the standard H, whichcarries an armature I at one end and at the other end is connected to aspring J or provided with a Weight K (shown by dotted lines) to restorethe conductor to one position from which it may have been moved. Thearmature I is adjacent to the core of an electro-magnet L, which may beenergized when in circuit, so as then to attract the armature I and drawthe conductor F away from contact with the strip D, thus establishing anare which will act upon the material of the strip so as to change itssurface, and thus oxidize it, if the strip be lead. As soon as thecircuit is broken the spring or Weight referred to restores the 0011-ductor into contact with the strip ready to establish an are again whenthe magnet is energized. If desired, the conductor F may be given atremulous movement by hand or otherwise, so as to produce a series ofsparks to act as the are upon the strip D. When the electro-magnet isemployed, as described, the action is automatic; but the magnet may bedispensed with and the action made dependent entirely upon the will ofthe operator.

The letter M designates the wires for transmitting the current from thesource N, and O designates a resistance-coil to prevent any excess ofcurrent; but it may be replaced by a motor of suitable form, which maybe used to move the strip D and actuate the conductor F, which isillustrated as havingits standard mounted upon a carriage P, which cantravel back and forth, so as to move the conductor F across the width ofstrip D. The base Q of this carriage will be insulated from any bedbeneath it. A switch R may be employed to switch on and off the current.It may also be stated that any number of arcs may be made IIO bymounting conductors side by side. It is also obvious that the stripwhose surface is to be changed may be caused to travel, or the conductorF may be caused to travel, or both the strip and the conductor maytravel.

I have in the apparatus shown and in the description given thereof meantmerely to give an illustration of suitable means for carrying out themethod described and to be claimed herein. I do not lay any claim inthis application to the mechanism shown, and for that reason a moreminute description and illustration of the same need not be given; but Iintend to claim herein the described process in which the material onthe surface of a battery-plate is subjected to the action of an electricarc, so that it becomes oxidized or physically changed, or, as it may besaid, burned, and I intend to claim,more0ver, as an article ofmanufacture a battery-plate having its surface burned, as by the actionofan electric are.

More specifically what I intend to claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. The method of forming a battery-plate, which consists inprogressively subjecting its surface to the action of the electric areor spark, whereby said surface will become oxidized or physicallychanged, substantially as set forth.

2. The method of forming a battery-plate,

which consists in progressively subjecting its surface to the action ofthe electric are or spark in the presence of a suitable material withwhich it is desired to have the substance of the plate combined,substantially as set forth.

3. The method of forming a battery-plate, which consists in placing itin contact with one pole of a dynamo or other source of electricity andcausing an electric are or spark to be produced between successiveportions of the surface of the plate, and a contact-point connected tothe opposite pole of the source of electricity, whereby the said surfaceis progressively subjected to the action of the arc, substantially asset forth.

4. As an article of manufacture, a battery plate having its surfaceformed by burning the material of the plate.

5. As an article of manufacture, a batteryplate having its surfaceburned by subjecting the material of the plate to the action of anelectric arc.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ANTHONY RE OKENZAUN.

Witn esses:

OLIVER R. JOHNSON, Consulate General U. 8.11., London, England.

S. J. CHAMBERLAIN.

